It’s the first day of the Great British Spring Clean, and there are loads of litter-picking events popping up across Bexley over the next fortnight.

First up was Bexleyheath, where four GoodGymers joined the Love Where You Live community tidy-up co-organised by our friends at Discover Welling.

A large crowd in hi-viz set off on a 2.5km circular route around the roads surrounding the shopping centre. The bright yellow wave of litter pickers was quite a sight for shoppers and motorists!

We were so busy collecting rogue rubbish that we completely forgot to take photos along the way. Luckily we did manage to snap Ashton after he wrestled a stray blue supermarket wheely basket out of some very determined bushes. 🛒🌿

It was a lovely group to be part of, and somewhere along the route we completely lost count of the number of bags we filled between us.

Of course, we’d all much prefer it if people took their rubbish (and dog poo bags and cigarette butts!) home with them in the first place. But thanks to everyone’s efforts, the streets we covered are definitely looking a little tidier today.

It was full-on painting action at our monthly session at Holy Trinity Lamorbey Primary School last night.

On our previous visit we tackled two rather bold feature walls — one bright yellow and one deep claret — swapping the brash colours for something a little warmer. We're still debating whether the shade is technically 'cream' or 'magnolia', but whatever its official name, the school loved the new look so much they asked us back to paint the rest of the walls to replace their stark white.

We got busy with brushes, rollers and trays of paint, working in teams across the two classrooms. Impressively we mostly managed to get it all done within our allotted hour. Caretaker Andy will handle the high bits that were just out of our reach.

A second coat might still be needed, but the transformation is already clear to see.

Keeping a close eye on proceedings throughout was Brecon the school dog, who enthusiastically supervised, posed for photos and treated us to a few tricks. There were also a few musical interludes, with spontaneous renditions of songs from the musicals. (Oliver! and West Side Story proved particularly popular choices 🎵🎶.)

We'll be back again in April, so if you'd like to join the fun, come along! No painting experience required and we might actually settle the debate about the paint colour if we remember to check the label on the tin. Oh and singing is entirely optional.

Eleven Goodgymers came along to tonight's task for our 9th birthday. What a great turnout!

We were back at Box3Education, helping transform their unit in Bexleyheath Mall into a community space. Walking through the closed mall to get there was a little surreal!

Professor Levi met us and we soon got started with painting metal shelving units, and there was a lot of them!

We got stuck in with brushes and rollers, being super careful not to get paint on the nice floor. (Thankfully there were industrial wipes available to mop up drips!). While we worked there was lots of talking and banter, with a few jokes and hot drinks thrown in!

I noticed some black paint on my GoodGym top... I only had my-shelf to blame!

The session flew by and it was time to wash the painting gear and make our way out of the mall.

We then headed to the nearby Wetherspoons where Lisa and Graham had secured a large table for us.

The evening continued with food, drinks and more chatter, plus a chocolate Connie Caterpillar cake complete with candles and a rendition of 'Happy Birthday To Us'! Nine years of doing good and social fitness in Bexley - that's a brilliant milestone!

A great night was had by all, thanks for coming everyone. Here's to the next year!

Well it was another fun three hour session back at the Community Hospice shop sorting through the many bags of donated items and separating the 'gems' from the 'not bads' and the 'I don't think sos'.

iNormally we might spot some extraordinary items that delight and amuse but not so much today. Neither of us could bring ourselves to look at this passion fruit dressing gown, although we were mildly enchanted by cute soft toys that come through. This owl and gingerbread man for instance 🦉.

The day’s true conversation piece, though, was an ostrich - or perhaps an emu - wall light. The species remains under investigation! Its most striking feature is the electrical cable emerging boldly from its beak, dangling for all the world to see. One assumes this is a bold artistic statement and while I admire the creative vision, it’s not a look we’ll be rushing to install at home anytime soon!

If you'd like to lend a hand, look out for future sessions. Who knows what gems you might come across!

Six of us set out for tonight's task after a request from a local resident to tackle litter in the area.

With the mist rolling in and visibility low, we were armed with brand new litter pickers, bags, bag holders and hi-viz jackets kindly provided by the Council and got to work.

Starting by Welling's historic cannon, we worked our way along Welling High Street, down into the resident's road, and a few smaller side roads, making sure every stray crisp packet, rogue drinks can and even a lost shoe or two were safely bagged up.

The fog certainly added atmosphere to the evening, and there was a concern we might have not noticed some obvious pieces of rubbish strewn on the floor.

Our fears were allayed however by a message from the resident shortly afterwards thanking us for making such a noticeable difference, leaving the streets looking cleaner and tidier for the community.

Another good evening's work, a bit of exercise, a good chat along the way, and proof that even on the foggiest of nights, a determined group can still make a clear visible difference.

Another Saturday, which of course means it's parkrun day once again.

And once again Peter was there at Bexley's event as part of the hi-viz volunteer crew to help it all happen smoothly. It was windy and it was cold but Peter's inspiring commitment and mastery as a timekeeper outshines bad weather every time.

See you there - same time, same place next week?